White Bean Soup with Roasted Cauliflower

I made this a few weeks ago and some people asked for the recipe. Sorry it took so long.  It is adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe so I have to give props for the inspiration. More winter comfort food!

Ingredients:
1 quart vegetable stock
3 garlic gloves minced
1 onion chopped
1 can diced tomatoes chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 can white beans rinsed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp or 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 head of Cauliflower
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for shaving

Directions:
Heat 2 TBSPs of olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.  Add onions and sauté 8-10 minutes until they become translucent.  Season with salt and pepper and add garlic, celery and carrots. Add tomatoes, beans and 1 cup of the vegetable stock.  Bring to a boil.  At this point you can use an immersion blender and pulse a couple times to break up some of the beans. You don't have to do this but I like how it thickens up the soup. 
You can now add the rest of the vegetable stock, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil then cover and turn down to a simmer.
Preheat the oven to 400F.  Cut cauliflower into florets and toss with 2 TBSPs of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast cauliflower in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they have nice crispy edges.
At this point you can remove the bay leaves and the thyme sprigs. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
To serve, place some of the roasted cauliflower florets on top and shave some Parmigiano over the soup.

Vegetable Soup

I posted a non vegetarian version of this hybrid tortilla soup and chili recipe before, but I wanted to do another meatless version.  This does have fish sauce because I love it but you can take it out if you want to make it totally vegetarian.  It's one of those ultimate comfort foods that warms you up and is full of flavor.  Perfect for winter nights, riding out snow storms.  The recipe is for 4 but easily doubles for more guests!

Ingredients:
1 quart vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro + a little more to garnish
5 garlic gloves minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1 can diced tomatoes chopped
2 carrot chopped
1 cup of zucchini cut up into chunks
1 cup squash cut up into chunks
1 can white beans rinsed
1 can black beans rinsed
1 small can of corn rinsed
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2 jalapenos seeded and diced
1/2 TBSP fish sauce
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 limes  (one juiced and one for serving)
1/2 Avocado 
Olive Oil

Directions:
Heat 2 TBSP of olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.  Sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes then toss in the garlic and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.  Add carrots, cumin, salt and pepper and tomatoes.  After another minute or so add the Vegetable stock, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Stir then add 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, bell pepper, zucchini, squash, beans, corn and jalapenos.
Cover and let simmer for another 20 minutes.  Stir in lime juice and the other half (1 cup) of cilantro.
Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste.
To serve, top with a bit of fresh cilantro, a few slices of avocado and a squeeze of lime.  You can also top with a little crema if you want.

Polenta Cakes with Balsamic Onions and Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:
1 Pint of Brussel Sprouts
1/2 Large Spanish Onion
1 Tube of Pre-cooked Polenta
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for shaving
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the Oven to 400F.
Cut the stems off the Brussel Sprouts and cut them in half.  Toss the Brussel Sprouts with 2 TBSP of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Spread the Brussel Sprouts out on a sheet pan.
Cut the Onion into 1/4 inch slices and toss with 1 TBSP of Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper.  Heat a sauté pan over medium high heat, then add the onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions start to become translucent (don't forget to stir the onions or they'll burn).  Add 1/4 cup of Balsamic Vinegar, stir and turn the heat down to medium low heat.  Stir occasionally for about 30 minutes until the onions are fully softened and all the vinegar is absorbed. 
Place the Brussel Sprouts in the oven.  They should take about 30 minutes to finish. 
When the onions and brussel sprouts are almost finished (8-10 minutes left), heat up a cast iron pan over medium high heat with 1 TBSP of olive oil.  Cut the Pre-cooked Polenta into 1/2 inch slices.  When the pan is nice and hot add the slices to the pan.  Cook each side 3-4 minutes until the slices are slightly browned.
Assemble and enjoy with a bit of Parmigiano-reggiano shaved on top!

Chicken Biscuits

  

I wish I lived just a little bit closer to Pies 'n' Thighs so that I could eat these more often.  I had been hitting it up about once a week over the summer but I haven't been much since it got colder out.  They are the perfect combination of sweet and spice wrapped in a flakey biscuit.  Awesome.

Pies 'n' Thighs

corner of S.4th and Driggs

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Crab Cakes that I made!

Growing up in Baltimore, Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are kind of a religion.  I still remember the feeling of waking up at the crack of dawn on every beach vacation to go crabbing under the bridge with my dad, uncle, grandfather and brother.  We would bring the spoils back to the beach house and steam them up in a huge pot for the entire family to enjoy.  Any leftovers would go to making either crab cakes or crab soup for the following day.  This recipe is from my mom who knows her crab cakes (thanks mom!) and the crab meat is from a crab feast this past weekend (thanks dad!).
A note about crab meat.  Don't even bother to try this recipe unless you can find fresh lump crab meat.  The recipe relies on the flavor of the crab itself which is sweet and fantastic, and pasteurized crab meat doesn't have that same flavor at all.  It probably shouldn't even be called crab. 

Crab cakes with asparagus and Vino Verde from Portugal.

What they should look like after mixing and forming but before cooking.

The finished product.

Ingredients:
1 lbs of FRESH Crab meat (not pasteurized! trust me)
6 Saltine crackers crushed
1 Egg
2 TBSP Pancake mix
1/4 Cup Mayo
1 tsp Ground dry mustard
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Fresh Lemon juice
1/2 tsp Dry parsley
Butter

Directions:
Start by gently picking out all the shells from the crab meat.  Take care not to handle it too much and to let the large lumps of crab stay together.  This is very important.
Next place the oven rack towards the top of the oven and preheat the broiler to 500 degrees.
Combine the egg, mayonnaise, Old Bay, mustard, pancake mix, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and lemon juice in a bowl.  Very gently mix in the crab meat and crackers with you hands and form into cakes.  I prefer a lump shape to mine about 3 inches in diameter but you can do yours however you like.  Pan fry in about a TBSP of butter for 1-2 minutes then finish in the oven until golden brown.

Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna is something that was always a bit of a mystery to me.  There are all these layers.  Well that part seems simple enough, but what order do you put them in?  Could it really be as simple as sauce, noodles, cheese, repeat?  The answer is basically yes.  What about the noodles?  They come in sheets.  Do you boil them first and then put everything together or do you just stack them in dry?  Guess what?  Both are right depending on what kind of noodles you get.  Lucky for me I found some fresh pasta sheets at the supermarket so no need to boil before baking.  This recipe is for a small pan (6x9 inches) so expand the recipe accordingly. 

Ingredients:
Sauce:
2 cans of stewed tomatoes
1TBSP olive oil
1/2 onion minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp Brown sugar
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
1 tsp butter

lasagna sheets
1 zucchini
1 cup of ricotta
1 + 1/2 cup mozzarella
1/8 cup fresh shredded Parmesan
bunch of fresh basil chopped
1 TBSP olive oil


Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 F.
Start with your sauce.   Heat 1 TBSP of olive oil over medium heat and add the onions.  Saute the onions for 2 minutes, moving them around the pan constantly. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir.  Add everything else, stir until combined and turn the heat to low.  Let cook until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
Cut your zucchini into thin rounds, 1/16 - 1/8 inch thick.  I use a mandolin to get uniformly thick rounds so they cook evenly.
Now it's stacking time!
Start by coating your baking dish with olive oil.  The first layer should be 1/3 of your sauce.  Then a pasta sheet.  Spread 1/2 cup of ricotta on the pasta sheet.  Sprinkle on 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella.  Place a layer of zucchini rounds on top of that, then another pasta sheet.  Now the second 1/3 of your sauce. Next a layer of chopped fresh basil.  Spread 1/2 cup of ricotta over that and another 1/2 cup of mozzarella over that.  Now another layer of zucchini and another pasta sheet.  Spread out your final 1/3 of sauce.  Top with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/8 cup of shredded parmesan. 
Cover you baking pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

Eggplant with Ginger and Honey Carrots

Personally, I have never been a huge fan of eggplant.  I always found it to be kind of strange in flavor and or texture.  Well, this is no longer the case.  After doing some research I figured out how to cook it so it is flavorful and melts in your mouth.  The key is the salting process which removes excess water and doesn't allow the eggplant to take in as much oil.  Brilliant! 

Ingredients
1 small Eggplant
1 TBSP olive oil
salt
pepper
Thyme
1 garlic clove minced
lemon

2 Carrots cut on a diagonal
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP honey
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp ginger grated
salt
pepper


Directions:
Eggplant:
Cut eggplant in half and make deep diagonal slices in the flesh in both directions.  Rub salt on the flesh and in the cuts.  Let rest for 1/2 hour on a paper towel then squeeze out the water from the eggplant and rinse.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Dry the eggplant and season with garlic, thyme, pepper and brush on olive oil.  Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until the fresh of the eggplant is nice and soft (if you use a bigger eggplant it is going to take a bit longer).  Squeeze a little lemon over it after plating.
Carrots:
Heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the carrots for 5 minutes.  Add ginger, honey and butter and reduce the heat until the carrots can be pierce with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper.

Curry Chicken and Chips

Curry chicken and chips!  One of my favorite chip shop staples.  This is a comfort food that I crave in the winter so I set out to create my own version of it.  A perfect mix of sweet and savory.  It is loosely base on my memory of the curry chicken and chips from Chip Shop in Brooklyn. 

Ingredients:
2 tsp veg oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 TBSP curry powder
2 tsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/2 apple cut up
1 TBSP brown sugar
1/4 cup tomatoes
1 chicken breast chopped up

Directions:
Heat oil over medium heat and add onion.  Saute for 2 minutes and chicken.  Brown chicken and add garlic, tomatoes and apples.  Saute for 30 seconds and stir in curry powder, salt and flour.  Add water and brown sugar and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 15 - 20 minutes. 
Serve over your favorite french fries.  I really love seasoned curly fries so that's what I usually go with.

Chicken and Broccoli in White Wine over Penne

I have had variations of this dish over the years but I had never tried to make it myself until last summer.  It was after a trip to Paris to hang out with a friend of mine.  I didn't actually have this anywhere but we happened to wander past a restaurant with the smell of wine and butter wafting out and I was immediately transported to this dish.  I tried to search for a recipe that could replicate what I was craving but couldn't find one.  Maybe I was searching for the wrong terms but it led me to work it out on my own.

 

Ingredients:
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
2-3 cups Broccoli spears
1 Chicken breast cup up
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter (maybe a little more)
lemon
Parmigiano-Reggiano grated
Penne Pasta (a little more than 1 cup dry)
salt
pepper

Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat Olive oil over medium heat and add onions.  Saute for 2 minutes and add chicken.  Brown the chicken and add the garlic and broccoli.  Add chicken stock and wine and cover.  After 2 minutes reduce the heat to low.
Cook pasta until al dente and drain water.
When the broccoli can be pierced with a fork add butter and pasta and toss.
Serve with grated parmigiano and a squeeze of lemon.

Salmon, Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

 

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets

2 TBSP Vegetable oil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon

2 cups Brussels Spouts

1/2 apple chopped

1/4 cup Pancetta diced

1 TBSP Brown Sugar

1 TBSP Olive oil 

Salt 

Pepper

2 cups Sweet Potatoes chopped

2 TBSP butter

1 TBSP honey

Salt

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

Salmon:

Coat salmon fillets with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.  Sear over high heat for a few minutes on both sides.

Brussels Spouts:

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut stems off brussels sprouts and cut them in half.  Remove and discard the loose leaves.  Coat with olive oil, mix in pancetta, apples and brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper.  Place in roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes or until the edges of the brussels spouts are nice and crispy. 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

Cube the sweet potatoes and boil in salted water until soft.  Drain the water and place back in the pot.  Add the butter, honey and cayenne pepper and puree with an immersion blender or a fork if you like it chunkier.  Salt to taste. 

 

Mexi Soup

This is a hybrid of a tortilla soup and a chili.  It's one of those ultimate comfort foods that warms you up and is full of flavor.  Right now it's one of the favorite things I make.  Perfect for the cold rainy days we are having here in Porto.  The recipe is for 2 - 4, like all my recipes, but easily doubles or triples for more guests!

 

Sophie wants a taste.

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro + a little more to garnish
3 garlic gloves minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 cup of zucchini cut up into chunks
1 can white beans rinsed
1 can black beans rinsed
1 small can of corn rinsed
1 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 jalapeno
1/2 TBSP fish sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 limes  (one juiced and one for serving)
Chicken:
Salt
Pepper
1/2 chicken breast (or more if you want more chicken)
1 TBSP olive oil
Crema (optional)

Directions:
Start with the chicken stock, water, garlic, 1/2 the cilantro (1 cup), onion and fish sauce over medium heat.  When that starts to get hot add the salt, pepper, jalapeno, sugar and cumin, and let simmer for a few minutes.
Add the carrots, tomatoes, and corn, and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Add beans, zucchini, and bell pepper.  Cover and let simmer for another 20 minutes.  Stir in lime juice and the other half (1 cup) of cilantro.
Cut up chicken into strips and mix with 1 TBSP of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Saute the chicken strips and use to top the soup.
Top with a bit of fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.  You can also top with a little crema if you want.

Thai Green Curry

Thai food is something that does not exist at all in Porto (at least I haven't found it).  That's a real bummer for me because I love it and it used to be so easy to get when we lived in Brooklyn.  There were at least 5 Thai places in our old neighborhood.  This recipe is actually pretty easy to make.  It's basically curry paste, coconut milk and what ever else you want to through in there.  The fish sauce and sugar add a lot of depth to the flavors so you should really make an effort to include them.  Green curry sauce can be found at most supermarkets and I even read somewhere that people in Thailand use pre-made curry sauce so don't feel like your cheating.

Ingredients:
2 TBSP green curry paste
1 Can coconut milk
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup potatoes chopped
1 carrot chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper chopped
1 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2 tsp Olive oil
1/4 cup Fresh cilantro chopped plus a little more set aside
1 Lime
1/2 TBSP Fish sauce
1 TBSP brown sugar
Jasmine rice Cooked as normal

Directions:
Over medium heat, stir fry curry paste in 2 tsp of olive oil for 30 seconds and add onions.  Continue to cook for another 30 seconds constantly stirring and add potatoes and carrots.
Pour in coconut milk and stir. 
Add fish sauce and brown sugar and stir.
Cook for 2 minutes and add the chicken and red bell peppers.  Stir and cover.
Turn the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes.
Stir in 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro and serve over rice.  Garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Zucchini and bismatti rice

This is a quick and easy vegetarian meal that I make when I don't feel like cooking.  Zucchini is something that they almost always have at the market here so you may end up seeing it quite often on the blog.

Ingredients:
1 Medium zucchini cut into rounds then quartered
5-6 grape tomatoes quartered
2 Garlic cloves minced
1/2 Red onion
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
Salt
Pepper
Bismatti Rice

Directions:
Heat up the olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan and toss in the onions.  Keep the onions moving around the pan and when they start to become a little translucent add the zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic to the pan.  Toss every couple minutes so nothing burns.  After about 5 minutes add the butter and toss to coat everything.  Season with salt and pepper.  The vegetables are done when you can easily pierce them with a fork.
Rinse the rice for about a minute and place in a medium size pot with water (It's 1 cup rice and 1-1/3 cups of water for the rice I use but check your bag of rice for it's directions).  Boil the water and rice and as soon as it begins boiling stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  When the rice is done cooking fluff with a fork.

Pork chops and Broccoli

This broccoli was inspired by my favorite broccoli at Ki Sushi in Brooklyn.  I'm not really sure what they do to it but this is my nearest approximation of it.  Sometimes I will toast some pine nuts and throw those in with the broccoli too.

Ingredients:
2 Pork chops about 1 inch thick
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TBSP of butter
2 Garlic cloves minced
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
Broccoli:
In a large steamer pot fill with 1-2 inches of water, keeping the water level below the steamer basket.  Turn the heat on high and salt the water.  Cut your broccoli up into smaller florets and place in the steamer basket.  Steam the broccoli with the lid on until you can pierce the florets with a fork, taking care not to overcook the broccoli.  The broccoli should still be a little firm.  Transfer the broccoli to a mixing bowl with the chicken stock, butter and minced garlic and toss to coat everything.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pork Chops:
Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel and season them with salt and pepper.
Heat a pan on high with 2-3 TBSPs of olive oil.  When the oil starts to smoke add the pork chops.  Pan fry for about 4 minutes per side.  Make sure you turn on your stove vent because this can get a little smokey.  It also helps to use a splatter shield over your pan to catch the oil.

Ki Sushi

122 Smith Street

Brooklyn, NY

Mexi chicken and black beans

This is sort of a combination of a few different food loves of mine.  One being Mexican food and the other being Puerto Rican and Cuban food.  The beans have a little sweetness to them which perfectly compliments the zest of the chicken.  It's one of my favorite things to make and the apartment smells amazing while it's cooking!  Just as a heads up, this one does take a little bit of planning.

Ingredients:
Beans:
1 can of black beans
2 TBSP of cilantro minced
2 TBSP of onion minced
1/4 cup of red pepper chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 TBSP of brown sugar

Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 onion minced
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp white vinegar
1 Lime (Juiced)
1 TBSP cumin
Salt
Pepper

Bismatti Rice
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro chopped
Creme Fresh
Lime

Directions:
This is the planning ahead part - 
Chop up the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a tupperware container with all the other ingredients for the chicken listed above.  Mix it all up and let this marinate for at least 1 hour before cooking (I usually marinate the chicken for 2 hours).
When it comes time to get cooking, start with the beans (they should simmer for at least and hour so maybe start these while your chicken is marinating).  Place all the ingredients for the beans in a pot over a low heat.  Stir everything together and put the lid on to hold in all moisture.
Rinse the rice for about a minute and place in a medium size pot with water (1 cup rice and 1-1/3 cups of water is what I use for the rice I have but your rice may be different).  Boil the water and rice and as soon as it begins boiling stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  When the rice is done cooking stir in 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro. 
Heat a sauté pan and sauté the chicken over medium heat.  Since they are chopped into bit size pieces it doesn't take long.
Plate everything and top with creme fresh and a squirt of lime.

Pan Fried Pork Chops with Apple Compote

Pork Chops are cheap and easy but for some reason they were something that I didn't bother trying to cook until recently.  I love all things pork so I figured I would give them a try.  I made a little apple compote with some pancetta to top the chops and finished out the plate with bismatti rice and zucchini. 

Ingredients:
Pork chops about 1 inch thick
1/2 apple chopped up
1/4 onion diced
1/4 cup pancetta chopped in small pieces
1/2 Cup grape tomatoes halved
1 medium zucchini cut into bite size pieces
2 Garlic cloves minced
Bismatti rice
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a small pot heat a little olive oil over medium heat and add the onion and pancetta.  After a few minutes add the apples, stir, reduce the heat to low and cover.
Rinse the rice for about a minute and place in a medium size pot with water (1 cup rice and 1-1/3 cups of water).  Boil the water and rice and as soon as it begins boiling stir, cover and reduce heat to low.
Heat a pan on high with 2-3 TBSPs of olive oil.  When the oil starts to smoke add the pork chops.  Pan fry for about 4 minutes per side.  Make sure you turn on your stove vent because this can get a little smokey.  It also helps to use a splatter shield over your pan to catch the oil.
Put the zucchini, tomatoes and garlic in a bowl and mix together with enough olive oil to lightly coat everything and season with salt and pepper.  Heat another sauté pan on medium-high heat and add the zucchini and tomato mix.  Sauté for a few minutes, add 1 TBSP of butter and continue to sauté until the zucchini is easily pierced with a fork. 
Enjoy!

A Variation

Here is a variation on the potato, string bean, chicken that I posted earlier. 

Ingredients:
Hand full of String Beans
1 Chicken Breast cut into bite size chunks
2 cups of New Potatoes quartered
1/2 cup Grape Tomatoes
1/4 Onion chopped
2 cloves of Garlic minced
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Mashed Potatoes:  Boil a pot of water large enough for the potatoes.  Salt the water and add the potatoes.  Let them cook until they are fully cooked and soft.  Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.  Add 1 TBSP of butter, 1 TBSP of milk and 1 TBSP of chicken stock and mash your potatoes.  Add more milk, chicken stock, and butter until you get the consistency you want and add salt and pepper to taste.
Mash potato topping:  In a small pot heat a little olive oil over medium heat and toss in the onion. Stir and cook for 1 minute and add the garlic and tomatoes and let simmer on low heat.  After a few minutes add 1 TBSP of butter stir and cover pot.
Chicken:  Coat the chicken with about 1 TBSP olive oil and salt and pepper.  Heat a pan on high.  Toss in the chicken and brown on all sides.
String Beans:  Boil a pot of water large enough for your string beans to have room to cook.  Salt the water and throw the beans in there for 3 minutes.  After the 3 minutes strain them and place in a bowl with a lump of butter and salt and pepper to taste.
When everything is finished plate and enjoy!

Chicken, Potatoes, String Beans

I usually go to the market and just pick up whatever veggie look good and base the meal on that.  This night I found some really good looking string beans and I already had some potatoes at home.  I figured a little roasted chicken would work nicely to finish it out.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of new potatoes cut into bite size peices

2 chicken breasts

Hand full of green beans with the stems snapped off

1/4 cup pancetta diced

salt 

pepper

thyme

butter

olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix together the potatoes, pancetta and a little olive oil together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.   Transfer to a baking dish and pop it in the oven (20-30 minutes).  

Bring pot of water to boil for the string beans.  

While you are waiting for your water to boil, rub the chicken with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and thyme.  Heat up a frying pan on high and sear both sides of the chicken breasts.  Transfer the pan to the oven to finish the cooking (it doesn't take long).  

About 4 minutes before the potatoes and the chicken are done in the oven, cook the string beans.  Your water should be boiling at this point.  Salt the water and throw the beans in there for 3 minutes.  After the 3 minutes strain them and place in a bowl with a lump of butter and salt and pepper to taste.  

Pull the chicken and potatoes out of the oven and plate everything. 

Pasta Time

My first post is something that is a super easy meal that is both comforting and fresh.  Like Mark Bittman said "I'm lazy, I'm rushed, and I'm not all that skillful" so in that spirit I like to keep thing simple.  This only has a few ingredients that are readily available at any supermarket (even here in Portugal).  Of course like most of the things I make there is plenty of room for free styling and alteration.

Penne with fresh tomatos and basil

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta (of course you could use any pasta you like)
1 Can of diced tomatoes (i like to get them with garlic if I can)
1 Cup of grape tomatoes cut into quarters
1/2 onion diced
4 cloves of garlic diced
Oil oil
bunch of fresh basil cup up
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash of pepper
dash of red pepper flakes (depending how spicy you like it)
Ricotta cheese

Directions:
Over medium heat, heat up about a TBSP of olive oil in a pan and add the onions.   After about a minute or so toss in the garlic.  Wait about 30 seconds and add the canned tomato and fresh tomato.  Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir it all together.  As soon as it starts to bubble cover and reduce the heat to low.
Boil some water for the pasta.  Throw in a little sea salt and your pasta.  Don't over cook the pasta!  Huge pet peeve of mine.
Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce and fresh basil.
Plate it up and add a dollop of ricotta and a leaf of basil on top.